Darksong Rising (82 page)

slowly wrote out the message she wanted on the brown drawing paper. Once done, ignoring the

looks from Liende and Kinor, and even Hanfor, she read over the text once again.

... The Liedfuhr has pledged not to enter Defalk anymore, although he could not countermand

orders from the Prophet Rabyn. I have spared you and your lancers—my price for sparing you is

this. You will assist Arms Commander Hanfor—who loyally served Neserea until he was

betrayed by the Prophet Behlem. Hanfor will be the High Counselor of Neserea, under the sup-

port of both the Liedfuhr and the Regent of Defalk.

The people of Neserea should not have pay...And what if the Mansuuran commander refuses?

She took a long deep breath and rolled the scroll, looking at Hanfor, who had not dismounted,

but continued to study the road to the west.

“Are they headed this way?”

“I think not, and the scouts have reported that they are salvaging what they can and packing their

remaining mounts and wagons."

“I’ve finished this." Anna held up the scroll. “Will they respect a messenger?”

“Now that the Prophet is dead, I would say that they would.” Hanfor shook his head. “We can

send him under a parley flag.”

“Would you?” She handed the scroll to Hanfor.

“If it means fewer men who die, the attempt is worth some effort.”

"Thank you” Anna remounted Farinelli and rode the gelding to the tree-lined part of the hillside

where the players had dismounted and were resting, instruments near at hand. Liende glanced up

inquiringly.

“So far, it looks as though they aren’t coming our way.” Anna. cleared her throat “We’ve made

them a proposal.”

Liende waited.

“I’m proposing a Neserean as regent of Neserea under both the Liedfuhr’s and my protection. If

they accept... then we work out the details.” Anna moistened her lips. “If they don’t, we’ll have

to work out another set of details.”

And she needed to talk to Nelmor and Falar, to let them know about what she was proposing, or

they’d feel slighted as well. At least, she suspected Nelmor would.

The sorceress took a deep breath. All she wanted was a nap... but she wouldn’t get that, not for a

while. She rubbed her forehead again.

90

Sometime before midmorning, a maroon-clad messenger under a pale blue parley flag rode

slowly eastward along the road toward the Defalkan lines. His whole body posture bothered the

sorceress. His eyes surveyed the purple-clad Defalkan lancers, and his shoulders were slumped.

The parley flagstaff was jammed into his lanceholder, and the banner drooped in the clear

windless morning air.

The steps of his mount slowed as he neared the Defalkans.

Anna mounted Farinelli and rode up onto the road to watch from almost half a dek away, and she

found all of her guards mounted and surrounding her, as well as Kinor and Jimbob.

The wind had shifted to where it blew out of the northwest, carrying not only the faint odor of

moldy leaves, but also the odor of fire and charred meat. Anna swallowed quietly, watching

intently as the Mansuuran messenger rode toward them, each step of his mount seemingly slower

than the last.

Rickel and Bersan brought their mounts forward, their shields high, partly screening Anna from

any surprise attack. Kinor stationed his mount to Anna’s left.

Hanfor nodded at a Defalkan lancer Anna did not recognize, and the Defalkan rode forward

alone to meet the Mansuuran and to accept the scroll carried by the Mansuuran. After handing

over the scroll, the Mansuuran saluted and turned back westward, spurring his mount into a slow

trot.

“He’s not happy,” observed Kinor. “I’ll get it.”

“We won’t be either. Thank you.” Anna waited as the redhead rode to meet the lancer and take

the scroll. When he returned, she accepted the scroll, unrolled it immediately, and began to read.

Honored Regent of Defalk, Most Powerful Sorceress, Protector of Lands, Overlord of the East...

The compliments went on for three lines before the message became clear.

Much as I would like to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, I am a loyal Mansuuran overcaptain and

the arm of the Liedfuhr. I am not so empowered and cannot accept your request that I use my

lancers to support a turncoat or to turn the Prophet’s land over to one not of his lineage.

The signature was: “Relour, Overcaptain and Arm of the Liedfuhr.”

Anna sighed. Here we go again. Another stubborn male who would rather stick to his

procedures and beliefs and have his troops killed than use common sense. Does he really think

I’m going to allow lots of Mansuuran troops to stay in Neserea after all this? "They’re not

interested.”

“Will you destroy them?” asked Jimbob, who had eased his mount up beside Kinor’s.

“I think I have to give them a chance.”

“They would have given you none, lady,” offered Hanfor.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll still have to follow them for a while. at least until they’re almost out of

Defalk.” She nodded to herself, half-smiling. There was no reason to kill the Mansuuran lancers.

Not if she didn’t have to, but there was certainly no reason to spare Relour. Loyalty didn’t

excuse stupidity—or arrogance. “I wonder what he was really thinking?”

Hanfor laughed. “I would wager that Relour would be regent and ruler under the arm of the

Liedfuhr. Like Nubara.”

“You would attack them now?” asked Himar.

“No. We’ll follow for a time. They’re inside Defalk. I’m not going to attack all of them,

anyway.” Just Overcaptain Relour. “Not yet. Not until I’ve tried one other thing.”

Hanfor nodded, and Kinor nodded in return. Jimbob merely looked puzzled.

Anna did not shake her head, although she wanted to do just that.

91

Ignoring the sounds of conversation and cooking coming from outside the ever-dingier small silk

tent, Anna looked from Liende to Hanfor.

“You wished to talk with us?” asked Hanfor.

The walls of the tent rippled in the momentary breeze, and stopped moving. Anna cleared her

throat, then took a long swallow from the water bottle. “Sorry. My throat gets dry with all the

road dust.” She cleared her throat a second time. “Yes, I did. I wanted to talk about the

Mansuurans. If we leave the Liedfuhr’s lancers in Neserea, we’ll have the same problem in

another year. Two at the most.”

“You wish to destroy them after all?” asked the veteran, fingering his gray beard as he did when

thinking or nervous. “You destroyed near-on a hundred fifty—score of the Neserean lancers and

armsmen Rabyn raised.”

“That leaves almost a hundredscore lancers, and that makes them more powerful than the

armsmen left in Neserea.”

“Are they not better trained?” asked the chief player.

“Far better,” Hanfor acknowledged.

‘Tonight, we’ll try something,” Anna said.

Hanfor raised his eyebrows.

“Do you have two or three lancers who can send a heavy arrow farther than the others?”

“A half-score would be better.”

“We’ll get as close as we can, and I’ll use the lutar to enchant a few shafts.”

“You would kill the overcaptain? That will not persuade the captains under him,” Hanfor

predicted. “They would regard that as cowardice.”

“Then, I’ll remove them one by one until some idiot gets the message."

Liende smiled sadly. “There will be many you may remove, and before you get that far, one will

order the lancers to attack us.”

Anna felt like throwing up her hands. “What am I supposed to do? I spared the Mansuurans

because they didn’t start this mess, and because I wanted to make a gesture to the Liedfuhr. But

they aren’t exactly helping things either.”

“They would regard that as treason... unless they had no choice.”

"Then... maybe, we won’t give them any choice,” Anna said.

“If you attempt this, do not essay it too often,” suggested Hanfor. “Or they will attack, and you

will not be prepared to destroy them, for there is every chance that is what you will have to do.”

“Can we try this once?” asked Anna.

Hanfor smiled. "Once... they will not expect, not after you have let them escape.”

“And then what?”

“They will turn and attack, tomorrow morning.” Anna sighed, then looked at Liende. “Can you

have the players ready with the long flame spell and the arrow spells?” Always the flame spell,

and always the innocents die because of the arrogance and stupidity of their superiors. Including

you...

“We will be ready. Like you, I would wish otherwise, but I do not see such." Liende offered the

sad smile that Anna had seen too often.

“Neither do I.” The Regent looked at Hanfor. “Do you?”

“As I said, Regent, they will not accept aught you offer that does not leave them in control of

Neserea, and that you and Defalk cannot accept.”

“Tonight then. They get one chance.” Which is more than people have usually given you.

92

WEI, NORDWEI

You summoned me, honored Counselor?” Gretslen’s voice is low and bows deeply as she

approaches.

Ashtaar remains standing, but gestures toward the straight chair before the flat table-desk. “You

may sit.”

Gretslen sits, her eyes darting nervously from the black agate oval on the flat polished wood to